Glitter

 I used to watch my grandmother lead chickens to the butcher block when I was young. She’d pick the one that would be dinner later that day and throw a few kernels of corn on the ground in front of it. Glad for the free snack, the chicken would peck at the corn, and while she walked toward the stump with the axe embedded in it, my grandmother would continue tossing a kernel or two to keep the chicken engaged. Even though I’d come to call it the executioner’s block, it wasn’t anything fancy. It was just an old tree stump that was the right height to do the deed, and it’s usually where our chickens met their fate. When it was close enough, she’d throw a handful of kernels on the ground, the chicken being so enraptured with the thought of a full-blown meal that it wouldn’t notice the hands reaching for it until it was too late.

To some folks who think milk comes from the store and not from cows, the idea of seeing a chicken getting duped into willingly marching toward its demise seems coldhearted and mean. I hate to break it to you, but none of the chicken you’ve eaten in your life volunteered to be your meal. If you ever find yourself cornered by a lion, you’ll know the feeling all too well.

What my grandmother did with the chickens isn’t much different from what the devil does with men the world over. He throws out a morsel here or there, leading in one inexorable direction. By the time they realize what’s happening, their head is on the chopping block, and all those morsels that seemed delicacies moments prior are revealed to be nothing more than stale corn kernels that weren’t worth the price. In case you were wondering, there is always a price.

The devil isn’t into doing anyone favors. He’s not the charitable sort. If he offers you a morsel, be sure that what he requires in return is worth exceedingly more than the morsel he offers. If that weren’t bad enough, the devil always collects on what he is owed. You can’t tell him the check is in the mail when it isn’t.

We’ve seen people who bragged about making deals with the devil end their existence in the prime of their youth when everything seemed to be going their way, and by all accounts, they were on top of the world. I could sit here and rattle off names, but you likely know a handful yourself, from musicians to movie stars to financiers, to athletes, and every other competitive field.  This life is a battlefield, and to survive, you must war as though your life depended on it because it does.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”

It’s one thing to watch a flock of seagulls pass overhead; it’s another to actively encourage them to make a nest in your hat. It’s a saying from the old country, and it does sound better in the old tongue, but the point is still valid.

The goal isn’t to never have another thought again once we’re saved. We’re not automatons, robots, or machines. If you continue to have thoughts, chances are, at some point, you will have a thought that is neither wholesome nor beneficial to your spiritual man. When that occurs, you bring the thought into captivity without allowing it to find a home, make a nest, and multiply. Evil thoughts are malignant. They grow and metastasize until they overtake the host altogether unless they are excised.

For lack of a better analogy, think of evil thoughts as a melanoma, your basic, garden variety skin cancer. If you catch it in its early stages, a scalpel or a laser should do the trick, and you’ll likely have a story to tell about how you’re glad you caught it early and feel like you dodged a bullet.

If you don’t catch it early, or worse still, if you see the mole growing and changing color, but you refuse to deal with it because you deem other things more important, then that thing that could have been taken care of in five minutes or less can now become fatal.

Don’t let the thought you could have brought into captivity by pleading the blood of Jesus become the monster that threatens your survival. It’s easier to resist the urge to peck at the first corn kernel thrown in your path than try to wriggle free of the experienced hands trying to wring your neck.

You’re not a fish; you’re not dumb, nor do you have a brain the size of a pea, so the glittery stuff shouldn’t rob you of your senses or make you lose your mind. ‘Ooh, what’s that over there it’s shiny’ should never be a thought you should entertain. It’s glittering for a reason, especially if you’re in an environment where there should be no glitter.

You know how the enemy operates. You’ve seen his playbook, and you know what to look out for. Whether it’s feeding your ego, fueling your lust, or exploiting your emotions, there are only so many plays he can run. There is a counter to everyone, and there is an escape, but you must resist the devil so that he might flee, not walk hand in hand, hoping to achieve the impossibility of serving two masters.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.